[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

> Whether someone is a male or a female is simply a question of biological definitions of observed reality, just as whether an animal is a dog or a cat is simply a question of biological definitions and observed reality. A man who thinks he is a woman is simply mistaken by definition, just as a man who thinks he is a dog or a cat is mistaken by definition.

Hard disagree. Even with a strictly genetic interpretation there are more than just two sex-chromosomal configurations, but leaving that aside there are many of us who believe that gender, unlike biological sex, is a social construct. Saying "you must be a man because you were born XY" is roughly equivalent to saying "you must stay home and cook dinner because you were born XX".

Let's say we had the ability to genetically re-engineer people into whichever sex they wanted. Would you still be opposed to letting them do so because they were born a different sex? Would you deny genetic treatment of debilitating diseases because people were born with them?

[gingfro]

> there are more than just two sex-chromosomal configurations

These are not additional sexes.

For example, a male with Klinefelter syndrome (XXY) is still male.

> Let's say we had the ability to genetically re-engineer people into whichever sex they wanted

We do not, nor anything even remotely close to that.

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

> These are not additional sexes. > For example, a male with Klinefelter syndrome (XXY) is still male.

Only by arbitrary definition of the abstraction we use. If we instead defined maleness as the ability to inseminate women and produce viable offspring they wouldn't count. If we defined it by having male genitalia then people with androgen insensitivity syndrome wouldn't count.

Male and Female are human terms we've chosen to categorize animals, but nature doesn't give a flying fuck about our definitions.

> We do not, nor anything even remotely close to that.

Obviously. This is called a 'hypothetical' or a 'thought experiment'. We use these to test the suitability of our mental frameworks of understanding. In this specific instance, I'm asking you to pretend this is true to see if your reasoning holds up, of if there is cognitive dissonance suggestive of a flawed model.